Foundation Special Projects Awards

The Winona State University Foundation was chartered in 1963 for the
purpose of receiving, managing, and applying funds exclusively for
charitable, scientific, or educational activities at Winona State
University.

Each year, the Winona State University Foundation grants
approximately $75,000 to special project applications pursued by faculty
or staff at the University. The object of the awards is to provide
financial support for projects that bring innovation and acclaim to the
University. The Special Projects Committee of the WSU Foundation Board
of Trustees reviews the applications twice a year and selects the
winning projects. The number and amount of award(s) shall be determined
based on the annual funding available and periodically reviewed by the
WSU Foundation Special Projects Committee. The recipients of the awards
are announced at the Foundation's spring board meeting.

Application Guidelines

• An outline of the project (problem to be addressed, significance,
goals, methods to be used, ways to evaluate success, future plans)

• A statement of the project's relevance to the mission of the institution and/or college

• one-page budget

• A fundraising plan (if additional funding is needed to complete the project)

• All publication, display, or presentation of any project funded should include appropriate recognition to the WSU Foundation

• It’s benchmarks and measurable results to be reported to the Foundation.

Eligibility

Applicants for the award must be a faculty or staff member at Winona
State University and their submitted projects must meet the following
criteria. Funds will be awarded for those proposals which encourage the
innovative research, curriculum development that lead to new program
development and scholarly publications.

An eligible project:

• Is one that needs initial funding

• Advances the goals of the University

• Encourage innovative teaching to innovative research

• Shows clear potential for leveraging additional funding and is
submitted by an applicant committed to leading those fundraising
efforts

• MUST be authorized and approved by department heads

• Is presented in a proposal that adheres to all the guidelines set forth

• Is a project that will be completed or substantially completed within 12 months

• Will bring visibility to the University

Restrictions

• Faculty and staff members are only awarded one grant per fiscal year

• Funds awarded must be spent solely for the purposes stated in the application

• Changes to original request require resubmission of the written proposal

• The Foundation will not fund academic course work toward graduate degrees or for post-graduate work

• All property funded by the WSU Foundation must be recorded as part of WSU’s inventory and have a fixed asset sticker applied

• Any inventions or intellectual properties developed must be disclosed to the Foundation

• The Foundation retains the right to claim a fair and proportional benefit from the innovation

• The Foundation will be given an opportunity to participate in the patent process.

Timelines

Applications are reviewed two times per fiscal year. Applicants must be
present to the special projects committee on review day. A ten minute
time allotment will be scheduled by the foundation assistant one week
before the committee meeting date.

The presenter (s) should be prepared
to provide an explanation of the project's relevance to the mission of
the institution and/or college.

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact the WSU Foundation office at 507.457.5020 or email Jennifer Hoffman at jhoffman@winona.edu.

Special Projects Committee

The Special Project Committee is primarily responsible for special program activities of the Foundation. This includes developing proposal guidelines for projects intended to enhance WSU's academic mission, to improve the quality of its faculty or the level of instruction and to enrich the learning experiences available to its students. The committee encourages, reviews and recommends funding for programs and projects at WSU for which there are no current funding sources available.

Dollars awarded via the Special Project Committee are initially received as unrestricted gifts. These unrestricted donations come from a variety of sources: alumni, corporations, matching gift companies and other friends of WSU. The purpose of the program is broad and designed to serve the curricular, professional and program development priorities of the institution.